Wealth Inequality In America
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- Опубліковано 5 бер 2013
- A must see video reveals staggering wealth inequality in the United States.
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The richest people in this country have made their money selling things to poor people: Soda companies, cigarette companies, banks that charge $35 for being overdrawn, fast food empires... Companies that sell to rich people never reach anything close to the top of the food chain. Someone needs to tell poor people to buy locally made goods, and locally grown food, and to put their money in credit unions, not banks.
***** What the fuck was I thinking? You're right, and I'm wrong. Poor people should buy Lays Potato Chips, Coke and Marlboro's.
*****
Docktor Jim actually has no idea how this rampant inequality came about and why it's getting worse .
If you don't understand how the monitory/financial system works then you can't possably know why our lives are the way they are.
John Sergei I know that poor people love doing what cartoon animals on commercials tell them to do, which does nothing to help income inequality. Poor people are way easier to steal from than the rich. I'm not wrong on that one.
Docktor Jim Rich white people screwed us
Michael Guzman And we helped them do it by buying their stuff. For example, are Coke and Pepsi the only companies capable of making cola? Not at all, but poor people are very brand conscious.
I've only worked retail my entire life. I have nothing. I'm terrified of my future here.
You should be. I recommend screwing as many people you know over as possible to make as much money as fast as you can before it's too late!
So maybe you want to develop some sort of useful skill? Just think about it.
leave the us and tear up your us citizenship.
Thanks Reagan, very cool!
The problem is the super wealthy rig the game in their favor. Like one player being bank in monopoly and being able to change the rules as well to favor them winning the game.
+Jim Proser Things are arranged by the wealthiest so they can become wealthier at the expense of others. There is no justification for such a lopsided distribution of wealth in America. You can say all you want about the value of the innovators, how important the CEOs are to companies, etc. That is true within limits, but I repeat, there is no justification for the lopsided distribution of wealth described on this video. It is obscene.
The top 1% has earn more then enough than what they can spend, yet they still try to earn more by layoff and out sourcing. The greed minority made the majority of this country suffer.
We should revolt
@Tony Han french revolution!!! Just need a guillotine
@Tony Han impeach half the politicians,
"The republic of Rome died not because it was inefficient, but because the leaders behind that system had been corrupted and blinded by greed and glory. The very people they were meant to serve they exploited and in the end, those very people turned against them resulting in the republic’s ultimate collapse. This should be a very important lesson for anyone about the dangers of greed and excess at the expense of others." -Ronald Smith
The making of the constitution provides a good example of how moral and ethical principles are involved in the idea of the state. As they constructed the framework of the new nation, the writers of the constitution were similar to other Americans in most of their views of the world. However, their preoccupation, as expressed in the written constitution, was with the question of equality; a question, that is, of the equality of men, which was perhaps an ideal, rather than a practical reality.
That's horrifying. If you as an American are not enraged watching this then may God have pity on you cause these people will stomp onyou and your dignity forever.
I never said that every single american was living the good life. But we americans (like many other countries) feel compassion for our fellow man. We are willing to help them out through charity, or social security (like food stamps and what not). No one is starving to death.
No income, no taxes. A little income, a little tax. Some income, some tax. More income, more tax. Sounds fair to me. 18% tax for everyone, no deductions.
It's not the population who are voting themselves the treasury. When you figure out who is getting the most out of tax revenue-through government contracts, tax breaks, and public distribution of risk (while profits are privatized) you'll realize who is ACTUALLY "voting themselves the treasury." For example, the bank bail-out in 2008/2009 could have paid off EVERY MORTGAGE IN AMERICA.
Milton Friedman said it best. Go earn your way in this world.
Can anyone tell me what software is used to make this kind of videos?
There needs to be an update on this after the pandemic
Will you remake this for the current situation?
This video is being used in schools. Is it updated?
If wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions, and money is tied to a person's ability to access the necessities of survival (and not just their access to wealth or abundance). It is clear that for most people in the world, money equates to access to the basic survival needs of a technologically advanced society, which as this video demonstrates, many cannot afford. This causes needless suffering. Money has become separated from its purpose and needs reexamination.
Agree. There is a difficult tax situation in the US, and in a global market, your European and Asian competitors are eating our lunch. It's move overseas or go out of business. This was the same issue as the US had in Japan after WWII, and again in Korea. They provided cheap labor... eventually their economies grew and pay increased and they were no longer 'cheap' labor. The same will happen in China and India, but not soon enough.
The issue is that while some inequality is an inherent part of the system, the degree of inequality that exists today is excessive to the point that the standard of living is stagnant, if not falling for most Americans. Today, the degree of inequality that exists is analogous to the era of monopoly, and is unsustainable as the middle class is deteriorating from it. The Scandinavian countries are a model of mixed-market economies that minimize inequality and provide steady, sustainable growth.
The wealth inequality is the main reason for the financial crisis in America and the world. The inequality has been increasing each year at a fast rate and it reached its crisis point in 2008. The greed and corruption of a large portion of the 1% is extreme. They want to pay as little tax as possible and don't want to pay fair salaries to their workers. Approximately 146 million Americans are struggling financially when there is more than enough money and resources for everyone to live very well
Whoa...
And yes, everyone who has had even passing, superficial interest in social sciences knows state is legalized monopoly of violence by its nature, taxes being one of the main things this violence is used for. Shock-value comes from negative connotations of violence, but negative connotations are not a complete argument for or against anything.
Also, just by looking outside you can see tax money already being used to make drug addicts etc productive members of the society
I'm among the poorest too. i'm a college student who works for minimum wage at a part time job. I can tell you, I live comfortably too. Sure, I can't eat out every night, or going out to watch a movie is a huge expense, but i would say that i live comfortably.
They certainly do put their money in several banks, many of them overseas where it will not be taxed, but mostly in highly protected funds where they also won't be taxed as much as the middle class. Those banks invest in stocks & bonds which benefits only the wealthy & corporations. No matter how much money a corporation makes, they WILL NOT hire more employees if the current numbers can meet the demand. To increase demand, you must increase the money in the pockets or the poor & middle class.
Quite a story/debate we have here
Inequality needs to be addressed. Not sure how, but I'm open to ideas. The other things I would do (as I have mentioned before) is better public education, including better and more affordable access to higher education and job training programs. Also, better healthcare (I'm in favor of single payer or at least a public option) and better mental health services. I don't oppose background checks but mental health should be the main focus of those checks. Finally, end the drug war.
Subscribed. Fantastic breakdown of the wealth inequality. Some in-depth journalism of how the richest 1% are connected to the government would be quite interesting.
Looking forward to see what other videos your channel has to offer.
As someone sitting way to the right of the curve and who worked hard to get there, I can say with some certainty that this distribution of wealth is obscene and unethical. Work hard and hope, but as Mr. Wilson said below, if you don't start well-off, good luck. Sure, there's only so much money to go around, but you don't have to have it all.
Any links to the original studies?
"Poorness" is relative. People below the poverty line in the U.S. are better off than 82% of the world.
yes, but is being judge in the context of US wealth redistribution, not the wealth of the whole world. So his point still stands.
Then 82% of the world live in a cesspool (which I don't doubt) but why do we want to be okay with it again? Relative comparison also says dying from a heart attack is better than a slow death by cancer.
The wealth distribution in this study is troubling...but more troubling is the on-going trend toward greater and greater inequality. At what point does this inequality trouble you? How far does the trend have to go to be troubling? If not now, when? And...if we wanted to actually do something about this, what would those actions be?
Well its sad because i live in canada and its really not like that here!
people r gonna hate this is how it is 98% of the time
i like the slow somber music
Unfortunately, the trend is not for rich people to create jobs and factories here, but overseas.
I'm among the poorest American's and I can tell you I don't live "comfortably". If it weren't for my parents I wouldn't have enough to eat or enough for gas in my car,or have a car at all. I would barely be able to pay the rent and maybe one or two utilities.
Why does this not surprise me that much?
No, I usually get 25-30 hours a week. I'm not totally self sufficient; my parents pay for tuition. Other than that, I budget myself pretty well, and I seldom ever have to ask them for money. I ride my bike to most places I need to get to, and I really only drive to work *which is 20 miles away*. I cook all my own meals, and I only pay for internet on top of my apartment and utilities. You just gotta budget yourself.
I believe that EVERY HUMAN BEING has moral agency. They are capable of making decisions that either improve or harm their situation. Further, not only are they capable, but they are RESPONSIBLE for making those decisions. That's what their parents were supposed to be teaching them until they reached their majority. This is why they are allowed to have their franchise (voting right) at 18. They are supposed to understand the difference between right and wrong. People only believe in "feels good".
Please put the link to the video in the description.
This is world wide wealth distribution trend. Where the bottom 99.9% hold only 19% of the worlds financial wealth. That means if your net worth (your liquid financial assets minus debt; real estate is not counted in this calculation of wealth) is less than 1 million US dollars than you are among that 99.9%. Additionally, 0.0001% of people hold 30.3% of global wealth.
The majority of this money is not being use to facilitate the distribution of goods and services, as Fallkenn pointed out.
I don't know where he got this info, but Wikipedia has a page on "Distribution of wealth", which contains a chart that roughly confirms the video.
Making sure everyone has an education, health care, and enough money to afford goods and services is clearly the right thing to do, even if he hurt the top 1%. But in reality, if everyone contributed to the economy and had enough money to buy things, invest, and pay taxes, even the 1% would be better off.
But it is not going to hurt the top 1% it is going to hurt the other 99%.
If the top are taxed more they will just increase the price of goods and services to recoup this loss.
It is not brain science just basic reality.
bighands69 There is a short-term aggregate supply curve and a long-term aggregate supply curve. In the short term, you are correct that prices would increase. However, in the long run, prices would decrease back to the long-run equilibrium price, only the 99% would have higher incomes, better education, and improved health care.
Logan Goldberg
My point stands if the top are taxed extra they will make up the difference by pricing the products higher.
There is no long term in this they will always adjust so as not to make a loss.
What happens when the higher prices repel buyers? What happens is the CEO and his three best-friend buddies aren't offered stock options and bonuses and the company lowers it's prices back down or goes out of business. That's what. People who think sticking it a little harder to the top guys is a bad idea have never watched a CEO who overspends on his own salary get his company into trouble. I have and it's hilarious humble-pie time for douchebags like that. Keeping 40% of your Fortune 500 company's profit while your workers are drawing food stamps is pure greed and callousness.
So because they’d still be better off it’s ok to steal from their generations?
intrest*
That 1% is a super boss
Let's remember that Socialism does not necessarily equate to equal income-distribution. While the video hit the nail on the head with income disparity, socialism needs some explanation. Socialism is when the government controls industry sectors (such mining, power, rail-systems, military, etc.). They're the boss, not a CEO or shareholder. How they distribute money is a matter of business choice at that point. However, the point should be made that when you live in a democratic republic, that big bad government IS the people. It's like an employee-owned business. This is a far cry from the Communist Soviet Union whose system is based on an authoritarian tyranny.
The problem with Communist countries that people don't realize, is that they are all dictatorships. Dictatorships tend to be cruel and evil, but it gets blamed on communism...
Not "a government" - but rather the workers and the people.
You should not need to give anyone charity. The world, along with all of its wealth and resources belongs to all of us. What we want is justice, not altruism.
Thank you for this data. Beautifully explained!
Agree, agree! Well said Taniya!
The amount of money you have in your life all depends on your parents. They can contribute both financially and ethically to you. But even if they're not rich, they can still equip you with useful skills in life and a good work ethic. That is what earns you money. So you can say the richest people had good parents, although not all of them were provided the work ethic that the "american dream" can be achieved by.
i think there needs to be a "flat" tax. and then use that flat tax to fix income inequality. the problem with most flat tax systems is that they decimate the poor. mine would tax everyone about 50% of all income. and then it would turn around and pay everyone $20,000. and in that way it would erase poverty, ensure that the masses had spending money to spur new businesses, and it would reward those who innovated, not those who hoarded wealth.
this guy isn't prompting socialism he saying to end the federal reserve , end corporate welfare , end regulation that hurts small business and implement a flat tax
Yes, many jobs are going to China. If my company didn't, we would have closed the doors and I'd be out of a job. Our competitors were eating our lunch with cheap labor. So if we have to survive, we needed to get some cheap labor too, or go out of business. It's a tough world out there. I wish it were different.
If you look at reality, that simply isn't the case. The american dream doesn't really exist anymore. If you're born into a rich family, you're gonna get a good education, go to college, and probably get a great, well-paying job. But if you're born into a family where neither parent went to college, you have a very slim chance of making much out of your life. (Obviously there are exceptions)
This perpetuates the cycle of income inequality. Where you're born plays a huge part in who you become.
Part 2 of 3 Making the officers and board members of a corporations_ liable for the actions of said corporation, (they can be jailed and/or fined a lot) and lastly either overturning corporate person-hood or treating corporations with the same responsibilities as people, meaning if a corporation gets caught acting irresponsibly it is either sent to jail, (taken over by the government for a set period of time), or is executed, (is taken over by the government in perpetuity or dissolved).
First, who says we get a say in how the wealth is distributed? If we do that, we are taking from someone else, and giving to others.
I don’t think that’s moral.
These people have the right information and probably the right beginnings to have the opportunities to use this information, EARLY.
But what’s great about America, is that, if you change your beginning, or your children’s beginning, or your grandchildren’s beginning, so that they are better off than you were, they can have more, steadily (which is what we are all taught is moral and just right? To not hold down our descendants and force them by guilt and ghetto mentality to stay where we are out of jealousy and taunts with “so you think you’re too good for ____?”, “you think you’re better than me?”. Very Cain and Abel).
Having more, steadily, and not at once in a generation, sounds like it could succeed.
So how do we change them for sure? Education. That precious information that the “top” benefits from.
Something tells me it would be a disaster and absolutely war and chaos if the scale shifted that greatly even over two generations.
The poor stay poor for a reason.
But children of top 1% getting much much more chances to succeed than children of bottom 80%, from which children from bottom 40% getting near zero chances.
This video does not demonstrate what people can or cannot afford. It only shows the distribution of wealth. I myself would be at the very bottom since I have no wealth. In fact I am in debt, which is negative wealth. Because I am a student and thus consume my entire income plus the money from my student loan. If you earn a million dollars and consume a million dollars, you will have accumulated no wealth. This video is just misleading.
Voting based on political parties is moronic, especially when there's just puppets on both sides.
This chart scares me!
A lot of people say that Americans should just 'work' to get money. But tell me how can Americans work if large corporations buy out their businesses and ship the production facilities to China and third world countries?
Billionaires don't merely sit on piles of cash, that would be foolish because it would quickly devalue due to inflation over time. They tend invest it into new businesses and foundations that people do use and benefit society.
"No one is starving to death"? Plenty of people go to bed hungry every nite in America, that's a well know fact. You said "Our poor live comfortably" I would largely disagree with that assertion. Being poor myself by USA standards, I can tell you my life is not all that comfortable,It's not the worst, but it's not relatively comfortable. Having said that, I'm lucky to have family, and I appreciate the help I get from the government being a disabled person.Without there help I would be homeless.
Yes, entry level positions are designed for teenagers, BUT minimum wage has to keep up with the cost of inflation which is annually 7% which is an extra hidden tax for the consumer. If you adjust the average wages of workers with the current projections since the 60% minimum wage would be 22 dollars, but the 14 extra dollars went to the Corporate Executives which explains the massive income inequality in this video! Sowell and Friedman felt low jobs were good because of ppl developed skills.
THIS IS MORALLY OBSCENE !!! THERE CANNOT BE ANY JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS SORT OF WEALTH INEQUALITY - ESPECIALLY AS THE PEOPLE WHO WORK THE LONGEST AND THE HARDEST EARN THE LEAST WHILE THE ONE PER CENT CONTROL THE GOVERNMENT AND AVOID PAYING TAXES. SOONER OR LATER, WORKING PEOPLE WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS - AND WHEN THEY DO, ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE.
I am well aware of the concept of tragedy of commons. This has nothing to do with that. I am not against private ownership. I am against private ownership at the expense of everyone else. A better system is possible, with private ownership, and without all the maladies of the current system.
Thank you. That's EXACTLY the fact that people are missing. No one believes that they should have to go through the 40+ years of work to get what they want.
A lot of these comments still miss the point. Wealth could be more equally shared. Big companies make plenty of money yet concentrate more of it to the few at the top, due to corporate and "conservative" government policy which is designed to suck the money up to the top. These corporations would not go out of business if they paid people more and gave some benefits. Too many people have fallen for the "job creator / trickle down" lies propagated to scare workers into being glad they have a job.
They only pay for my tuition, which I wouldn't need to pay in the first place.
My point was this: Our poor live comfortably. Compared to any other country on earth, our poor are better off, are healthier, and live better lives than anyone else.
Try living in a 3rd world nation like Brazil on the same salary. You'll find that you're as well off, or live better than the average citizen.
We already know the stats, they are told to us over and over again. The real question is 'WHAT CAUSES THIS INEQUALITY OF WEALTH???
That graphic doesn't show the taxes paid by the various groups. I agree that the wealth inequality in America is very great, but I also argue that the tax inequality is also very great.
The sad part is that people are working harder and harder for less and less. They literally don't deserve this horrendous treatment.
Does anyone know the song that is being played throughout this video? Any reply would be greatly appreciated!
This is not about greed. Possession is an illusion - things that you think belong to you, belong to Earth. You belong to Earth, as well. The paradigm shift I am asking of you is to embrace the idea that sharing needs to come before possession. I do not need to prove anything, because the proof is right in front of you. All you need to do is lift the veil in front of your eyes.
Or use Wikipedia: Social_justice
Doctors are making $200,000 per year and dishwashers only make $20,000 per year. The income inequality is too much.
Haha, I can just imagine a big intimidating iron door with big black and yellow text that says 'THE COMMENT SECTION' and some poor guy decides to open it and he closes it immediately when all he can see is a room chock full of people fighting and shouting at each other.
I opened the door to the comments and then immediately shut it.
Of course, if there is no demand, you don't build a new McDonalds. But there is demand, and you need to put up $300,000 dollars to do so. That takes some money in the bank, but it does create jobs too. If you put money in the stock market, it provides cash for business to expand, modernize and do more marketing and sales. Even if the rich person puts all the money in a bank for simple interest, it is cash for the banks to loan out to small businesses and individuals. It's economics 101.
The definition of a mixed economy is one that is half socialistic and half capitalistic. So your comment is as logical as saying that 50%-50% cotton/poly blended shirt is the opposite of cotton.
the issue that i have the most trouble with is that this seems to heavily rely on average americans opinions on the economy. If it's anything i have learned from the quality of some of our elected representatives recently its that there are many many dumb people out there who think that they know what to do but clearly are ignorant.
i thought that a very good opportunity here was missed as well to point out that it seems that many of the people on the high end of the spectrum have in the past & in the future will continue to stack the deck in their favor as they lobby to loosen regulations, lower taxes and buy government changes through campaign contributions that tend to benefit them directly as a result.
bribery should be a crime but seems to be the only way this country wants to run. regardless of congressional members covering up insider -trading or these super PAC's it truly seems hopeless.
In my opinion the less people have guns the better. In England where civilians are not allowed to purchase or have guns, they only have about 35 gun murders a year in a population of over 60 million people. Only the army and certain elite groups of the police and government have guns. This makes their murder rate far lower than America. The fewer people have guns the better. When your daughter or son or other family member gets gunned down then it often puts things into a new light for people.
"Capitalism" is essential a stacking process, its kinda like stacking up a pyramid bigger and higher without end. Inequality to this extent is not bizarre, it is simply inevitable...
Actually, a flat tax is immensely better for the rich than for the poor and middle class. Say the flat tax is... 5%. A person who makes $12,000/year will pay more taxes than they are now, and may not be able to get by, have enough food, may not be able to afford housing. A person who makes $1Mil/year? Wouldn't even really notice. What would help and be fair would be for taxes to be higher on unearned money (interest, dividends, property, etc) and lower on earned money (hourly wages and salary).
What we need now is the following video, showing:
+ where on the chart are members of Congress?
+ where on the chart does the money for political campaigns come from?
No do the same chart for a couple of 1st & 3rd world countries. I'm impatient.
You are 100% correct in your assertions. I was upper middle class two years ago, i owke 4 houses and rah a video productio studio I owened. I got a brain tujor, followed by the housing crash, and an egregiou seror bu Bank of America prevented me from removing my $800,000 equity. I lost it all, including my home of 22 years, and now live on disability payments. I can assure you, it was a lot easier working 55-60 hours a week and having income, than it is living on $1200 a month disability
Kinda funny there are no Harvard Business Economist Names or Resource Links to back up these claims. The presentation was beautifully done as a recruitment tool for occupiers INC.
The goal of socialism isn't to distribute wealth equally, that's communism. The goal of socialism is to help the poor and working class succeed economically, so they can become full participants in a democracy.
There is so much propaganda about Socialism it is mindblowing... but if you look at Socialist countries, like Finland... they are much better off than America, as a whole..
Bigbadd Woofe Quite sad really, so many people convinced their poverty must exist for freedom to live.
Yep, the economy is busted. If you run a business and it doesn't make money, you go out of business and no one has a job. I've been double up on to work more and more, but it's good to have a job. When times get better and business can start to invest again, the economy will expand and it companies will hire more and more people. Not much we can do about the 50's except fix the economy so rich folks will spend their money, not sit on it waiting for a good economic climate.
Would be nice if it were that easy. Been to China... not slave labor and very competitive. But that doesn't matter. The US unfortunately owes them a ton of money (we borrow 30 cents of every dollar we spend) and they buy a majority of our farm products, equipment, cars, rice, grain, lumber, etc. We'd lose that battle.They can buy from Europe and raise the interest we pay them. We need China as a customer too.
Less government, great idea.
I'd love to see the article and study that this information was gathered from, I'm doing a report paper on the subject. If anyone could give me a link id really appreciate it
And what's wrong with making it and keeping what you make? You don't get to reap the rewards if you don't do the work. This redistribution of wealth thing is a crock. You eat what you catch and if you don't catch it then don't eat.
People do work, and it doesnt matter. They arent earning enough.
Problem is they don't SAVE enough.
20k - 200k /year, 76% of them live paycheck to paycheck.
Look at those numbers. People just don't save.
They get a nice 10% raise at work? GO BUY A NEW CAR.
Make a 50% bonus at their high end job, and get a fat 100k 1 time check, better take a 30k vacation and then buy a new house when they get home
As stated in the video, the 99% have .05% of their money in the stock market. While the 1% has a tad bit more.... It isn't because they HAVE lots of money, it is because what they DO with the money.
So start saving another 20% of your income, on TOP of your 15% for 401k. ANd put it into index funds. You will be shocked at how rich you can be. You do that for 17 years and you can retire. It doesn't matter if you make 20k or 200k a year, its all the same
***** Interesting post my friend.
I do think it is hard for someone making 20K to do anything with the income they make, still, I am with you on people need to save better.
Canadians get taxed more but somehow our inequality rate is lower.
People who think it's a 'free-ride' and poor people are lazy are so clueless it is remarkable they aren'et poor themselves. Goes to show you money does ot often follow the worthy. The fact of increased worker productivity and high business profits, with a lack of pay raises for th workers proves that the American worker did not share in the rewards from the hard work. Ad in CEO pay up to 350-400 times the average employee, and the top 1% taking 25% of the wealth, it's clear where the money went.
Please ponder further on my generic statement. Yes, you can come to my house and take my stuff, right after we establish a new social contract which will allow me to go to Koch Brother's mansion and take their stuff.
If you pay a worker more than they produce, the business closes. Of course one must make money. Otherwise they wouldn't have invested (risk) in the company. Yes, people with money have it easy to make more money. Some people with money also lose it all when building a business. I don't know why everyone seems to hate people with money. They were born with nothing, just like the rest of us. Whether they were lucky, smart, or worked hard, they earned it (if not inherited...)
I guess we tax the wealthy more just for that reason.
I've run businesses and it's a bitch to make much money today. If you look at corporate profits, 99% make small to low profits, but we always hear about the few that have a windfall. Most business are just trying to survive (since 2008). Everyone thinks companies are flush with cash...
What I would like to see is gas prices going down, taxes reduced, and less government to pay for. That would give us all a big raise in our buying power!
Working people do own and control the business. They build them from scratch to empires if they are lucky. No one would ever even start a business if they had to give it away. If you started a business and made a successful go at it, with hard work, would you then turn it over to the workers?
Oh, don't worry. It'll trickle down aaaaany day now.
Wealth distribution is equal to distribution of power in the US and that power is, more than any other kind, the power to suppress competition. Those who possess disproportionate wealth use their vast power to quash financial opportunity for everyone else (see corporate mergers, downsizing, stagnated wages, out-sourcing, etc). Income inequality circumvents equal opportunity but putting monopolistic power in the hands of the very few. The 1 % are not the shining stars of capitalism, but rather its greatest enemy.